Open letter by Zambo med student to Noynoy Aquino goes viral

An open letter addressed to President Benigno Aquino III urging him to do more in light of the attack by elements of the Moro National Liberation Front on Zamboanga City has gone viral in the social media. It was published under the name of ABS-CBN actress Jodi Sta. Maria  The letter appeared in an apparently fan-made Facebook account of the Be Careful with My Heart lead star. The account currently has 8,000 followers while the said letter has been shared 5,000 times in the ten hours since it was first posted.

(UPDATE: The real author of this post has been identified as Facebook user ‘El Apolinario.’ See the original post in this link.)

Dear President Noynoy Aquino (P-Noy),

I understand you are a very busy government official. And I understand there are other pressing concerns in the nation. But I would just like to ask, why would you not consider the crisis in Zamboanga as a state of emergency? When a calamity strikes in Luzon, it’s a national crisis. When a national official dies, it’s a national tragedy. I am not belittling those events that occurred before because they are all disasters for the country and people were affected.

However, it must be noted that when armed men orchestrate violence, destroy private property, displace people and instigate armed conflict that should constitute an emergency. In my humble opinion, it’s not business as usual here in Zamboanga City, contrary to what Sec. Roxas states. People are sleeping on cement floors in the Grandstand or on the grass in the soccer field. Two nights ago they were sleeping in their homes. People are complaining that there’s not enough food in the evacuation centers.

Jodi-Sta-Maria Noynoy Aquino
Jodi Sta. Maria’s ‘letter’ to President Aquino has gone viral (Credits: Inquirer.net)

Although there is constant flow of food from generous Zamboangueños, it is still a daunting task to feed so many. Yes, people may exaggerate. But these are people who left their homes out of fear for their lives and no one asked them to be there. They simply had no where else to go. And yes, some individuals may abuse the free food being offered to them but I think this reflects a more pernicious problem – poverty.

Mr. President, you too must have felt that fear for sure, when your family was attacked by “political enemies” in the Palace. Patients in Zamboanga City Medical Center were forced to evacuate or placed on emergency discharge. That is not business as usual sir.

Mr. President, people need your help. Don’t declare the state of emergency, just send us food and water for the displaced, medicines for patients and maybe some more ammunition and possibly armor for our soldiers who are fighting with their very lives.

I don’t know if this reaches you or that this even matters to you. The point is, some of your “bosses” are being displaced and needs your urgent attention and action.”

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Mark Pere Madrona

The Filipino Scribe (TFS) is managed by Mark Pere Madrona, a multi-awarded writer and licensed professional teacher from the Philippines. Mr. Madrona earned his master’s degree in history from the University of the Philippines-Diliman last 2020. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in journalism cum laude from the same university back in 2010. His area of interests includes Philippine journalism, history, and politics as well as social media. Know more about him here: https://www.filipinoscribe.com/about/.

24 thoughts on “Open letter by Zambo med student to Noynoy Aquino goes viral

  1. FYI:jodi sta maria didnt write this. Pls make sure to verify first who the original author is. The one who wrote this letter is by the FB name El Apolinario. I believe he deserves the credit for this.

    1. Notice the quotation marks in ‘Jodi Sta. Maria’? That is meant to convey that I am not convinced that it is Jodi who wrote this piece. It’s not like I am denying the real author of the credit that is due him.

  2. FYI:jodi sta maria didnt write this. Pls make sure to verify first who the original author is. The one who wrote this letter is by the FB name El Apolinario. I believe he deserves the credit for this.

    —steph dela cruz

    1. damn with the credit! the most important thing is that the message has been declared, the sentiment of the zambo people and the netizens has been aired. Everyone could be an author to anything. I appreciate Jodi sta maria for having the courage to share this.

  3. FYI:jodi sta maria didnt write this. Pls make sure to verify first who the original author is. The one who wrote this letter is by the FB name El Apolinario. I believe he deserves the credit for this.—-steph dela cruz

  4. This was written on september 10, by Ellery Apolinario, Med student from zamboanga city… This was posted at his facebook account… God bless Zamboanga…

  5. Thank you for spreading this but a a medical student, post graduate intern Elery Apolinario was the one who wrote this!

  6. THIS LETTER WAS WRITTEN BY ELLERY APOLINARIO, A MEDICAL STUDENT FROM THE ATENEO DE ZAMBOANGA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE. PLEASE GIVE CREDIT TO THE ORIGINAL WRITER. THIS IS PLAGIARISM COMMITTED BY THE SAID FACEBOOK (FAN-PAGE) ACCOUNT OF THIS JODI STA. MARIA.

  7. credits to the owner po. whoever edited and posted this for their own benefit, plagiarism po ang gngwa ninyo. we know who the author is.

  8. to whom it may concern:

    please verify your sources before posting such article, which was obviously been edited/cropped. the publicity of the open letter created a wide-spread awareness of what the people of zamboanga is experiencing. however, this unlawful posting of article without proper citation of the author is unacceptable. the credibility of this blog site is now questionable as well as the person involved in the act plagiarism.

    credits to the REAL AUTHOR.

  9. Clarification: Thanks for saying the identity of the real author. The post has now been updated to reflect the said information. Please don’t accuse us of plagiarism because it’s not true.

    1. you are not being accused of plagiarism, it’s the jodi sta. maria fan page admin that is being accused of it. you’re just being blasted for giving the wrong credit in your initial writeup. thanks for the update though!

  10. Ang bobobo nyo. Basahin nyo ng maayos at clear namang hindi stated na si Jodi Sta. Maria ang sumulat nito. Matuto kayo to read between the lines at nang hindi napupuno dito ng mga comments na walang kwenta

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